Dear White Folks - great piece in Ebony

[Honeycombe8]

190. It's harder for middle class black youth, but not true they have no chance....

to be regarded as ordinary and not suspicious.

Famous feminist Bella Abzug once said that the mark of the end of discrimination against women was not whether some women at the top finally get paid what men at that level are paid; it's when the female schmuck gets paid what a male schmuck gets paid.

I agree with her. It's tough on women & minorities when they aren't special in some way, enuf to rise to the top. You have to dress a little better, speak a little better, behave a little better, produce work that's a little better, just to come close to the respect that a well dressed white male gets.

It doesn't help the middle class black youth that there is a high crime rate among that group. That is something women don't have to contend with. People are more suspicious of a black youth who is unkempt and doesn't speak well or behave well, because of the criminal element. A young white female who is dressed the same way and speaks the same way wouldn't be offhand thought of as possibly a criminal because, well, there aren't many young white female criminals, esp. violent ones. But there again, it's more because of the way the guy is dressed, speaks, and behaves.

None of this applies to Trayvon Martin, though. He clearly was a middle class youth just going on his way, not doing anything. Unfortunately, he was a stranger in an area plagued by burglaries, and he was wearing what some say young criminals often wear - a hoodie. No reason to stalk him, for sure. I have several hoodies myself, in several colors. They're practical, they're fun, they're inexpensive. I wear them a lot. But there aren't many female middle aged burglars around, so I'm not going to be mistaken for a burglar.